.nothing in common.

Alright friends, I know it has been a LONG time. I apologize but internet is crazy limited in Africa.

 

Here is my horrific attempt at an update. I was in a huge hurry, but at least it gives you a slight glimpse into this amazing experience that is AFRICA.

 

Liz and I arrived in Vanduzi on a Friday evening. The local “shappa” was complete with worn leather seats, the permanent stench of body odor, crammed seating, 3 goats, and a chicken. This lovely transportation device carried Liz and I to our ministry location. We all snuggled together for 45 minutes until Liz and I arrived at our stop and climbed towards the front, accidentally knocking over old ladies and small children with our enormous packs. Whoops. We unload with Pastor Madimbah, the aforementioned chickens, and smelling of the “scent” of Mozambique. Crazy that I found this wonderful and amusing! Onward…

 

 For the next 3 days, we’ll work alongside Pastor Madimbah, who pastors various churches in Vanduzi. His small clay hut has no windows or electricity, and allows just enough space for six people to fill into the room with a single wooden table, six chairs, 3 chickens, two puppies, and a kitten. Watch where you step, or you’ll find gifts from your small furry friends beneath the chair where you eat breakfast. Nothing but a long dirt road stands between our final destination and us. After a 20-minute walk down this red dirt path, we arrive at the church. We look up to see the beautiful mountains as we’re nestled in a tiny valley full of clay huts and bungalows. The land where we stay has one church made out of old cornstalks and another made of brick that has no roof. (They’ve apparently been waiting on the financing for the church roof for the past two years. So it sits, unused and uncovered.) There’s also a small clay hut where Pastor Madimbah lives with his family. The closer we got to our destination, the more children surrounded us, giggling and reaching out for hugs. We sat outside and played with the children for a while until we were called in for dinner. 

 

We filed into the cornstalk church Sunday morning, and for the next four hours, we worshiped, prayed and preached. I taught on being the light of Christ…(although I’m pretty sure what I SAID wasn’t actually translated. At least the one English-speaking visitor and Liz understood me. ☺ ) I felt completely ill equipped, but knew that the Lord granted everything I needed. We spent the afternoon hiking around the village and seeking out each member that was absent in the service. We prayed over the sick, encouraged family members, and even prayed our way past a voodoo healing session.  I’ve never prayed that much in 24 hours and I’ve never been that peaceful.

 

So, now I stifle laughter by candlelight and try to consider the reaction of my friends and family back home. “If they could only see me now…” Liz and I revel over this thought for a while and laugh. I’m sleeping on the grounds of an uncovered church, haven’t showered, and my only bathroom is an unusually deep hole surrounded by corn stalks. Don’t take a wrong step or you’ll accidentally hit loose ground… I eat what can be cooked over an open flame. I have no i-pod, no computer, no radio, no cell phone but have had an amazing time. Kind of makes me stop and think about all of the nonsense and accessories that I tend to think are so important. The relationships around me were rich enough to entertain me all weekend, despite the fact that the world would tell me that we had nothing in common.

 

I’m a middle-class, independent, American woman who loves expensive coffee, privacy, and large earrings. They’re a family of 5 Africans who live without electricity, wealth or personal space. I live in western world suburbia and they live in the African bush.  My kitchen floors are tile while their floor is dirt. The world would look at us and say we had nothing in common. They would say we were incompatible. We are so different. It doesn’t make sense. I get that. But we sat around the dinner table and communicated through laughter. We showed one another our hearts through the way we worshiped the same God that morning at church. We might have sat in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. I knew for the three days while I sat alongside them that I was family. How GREAT is our GOD?!?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend and I were too hot in the tiny church and opted to stand outside during the food distribution.

 

  Our marvelous safari!!! This was BRU’S CREW!!! We saw everything!